Resolving print setting conflicts in an image forming system

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention, starts initialization of a first module which performs conflict resolving processing for resolving a combination of invalid print settings, performs the conflict resolving processing by the first module if a print setting is changed on an application and initialization of the first module is completed, and calls the conflict resolving processing by a second module if an instruction to terminate the application is received and initialization of the first module is not completed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technique for resolving a conflict ina print setting.

Description of the Related Art

When a user changes a print setting, the changed print setting sometimesincludes a combination (conflict) in which two print settings areinvalid.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-099170 discusses atechnique for reading a conflict processing rule and performing controlby assuming such a conflict.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When a conflict occurs, processing for resolving the conflict can beperformed by, for example, forcibly changing a print setting so as notto use a function having the lowest priority in addition to the controldescribed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-099170.

In the present specification, a case is discussed in which two modulescan be used for conflict resolving processing. A first module takes timeto be initialized but can perform the conflict resolving processing athigh speed after the initialization. A second module does not require,for example, initialization of an application for performing a printsetting but performs the conflict resolving processing itself at lowspeed.

If only the first module is used in these two modules, a user needs towait until the first module is initialized. On the other hand, if onlythe second module is used, a user needs to wait for completion of theconflict resolving processing by the second module for a longer timethan that of the conflict resolving processing by the first module everytime the print setting is changed.

In this regard, the present invention is directed to shortening of await time of a user which is caused by two modules of the first moduleand the second module.

An information processing apparatus according to the present inventionincludes

an initialization unit configured to perform initialization of a firstmodule which performs conflict resolving processing for resolving acombination in which a print setting is invalid, wherein the printsetting is received on an application, and

a control unit configured to, if the application receives a change inthe print setting and initialization of the first module is completed,perform the conflict resolving processing by the first module and, if aninstruction to terminate the application is received and initializationof the first module is not completed, call conflict resolving processingby a second module.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system configuration.

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of a client computer.

FIG. 3 illustrates a configuration of an application and a driver.

FIGS. 4A to 4F illustrate screen transition of a touch panelapplication.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate screens of a touch panel print advancedsetting application.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are flowcharts of the touch panel print advanced settingapplication.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are flowcharts of a touch panel print advanced settingapplication according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts of a touch panel print advanced settingapplication according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts of a touch panel print advanced settingapplication according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 10A to 10C are flowcharts of a touch panel print advanced settingapplication according to a fifth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a touch panel application userinterface (UI).

FIGS. 12A and 12B are examples of a print capability and a print ticket.

FIGS. 13A to 13C are examples of application generic printer description(GPD) files.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a touch panel print settingfunction.

FIGS. 15A to 15C are flowcharts of a touch panel print advanced settingapplication according to a sixth exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate notification of conflict processing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system configuration of afirst exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. Thesystem includes a client computer 101 as an example of an informationprocessing apparatus and a printer 102 capable of receiving and printingprint data in a page description language (PDL) format. Theseapparatuses are connected and can communicate with each other via anetwork 103 as typified by a local area network (LAN), and the network103 is connected and can communicate with an external network. Theprinter 102 may be a single function printer including only a printfunction or a multi-function printer including a print function, ascanning function, and a copying function.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theclient computer 101 in FIG. 1. In the client computer 101, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) controls each device connected to a system busaccording to a program stored in a random access memory (a RAM 202). Theclient computer 101 includes at least one CPU 201. In addition, the CPU201 executes processing based on a program stored in an external memory209, and thus a software configuration of the client computer 101illustrated in FIG. 3 and processing in each step in flowchartsdescribed below can be realized. The RAM 202 functions as a main memoryand a work area of the CPU 201 and the like. In a read-only memory (ROM)203, various programs such as a boot program and a basic input outputsystem (BIOS) are written. An operation input device interface (I/F) 204is an interface for controlling an operation input device 205 such as akeyboard and a pointing device (mouse) touch user interface (UI). Adisplay I/F 206 controls screen display on a display 207. An externalmemory I/F 208 controls, for example, an access between the externalmemory 209 such as a hard disk (HD) and a solid state disk (SSD). Theexternal memory 209 stores an operating system program (OS) 210, variousapplications 212 corresponding to each of a touch panel and a desk top,a driver 211 including a printer driver, and various files and functionsas a computer-readable storage medium. A network I/F 213 is connected tothe printer 102 via the network 103 and performs communication controlprocessing between the printer 102.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an application and a driveroperating on the OS 210. FIG. 3 is divided into an application layer atwhich a user can directly perform an operation and a driver and OS layercontrolled by the OS 210 according to a request from the application.Each application and module are stored in the external memory 209,loaded to the RAM 202 when needed, and executed by the CPU 201 on theclient computer 101. Processing regarding printing executed by the OS210 is divided into a print instruction performed on the touch panel andprint processing in the driver and OS layer. First, a software componentregarding the print instruction performed on the touch panel isdescribed.

Each touch panel application 3004 includes a basic print setting UI 8500as a basic UI for printing, obtains print queue information 3302 fromthe OS 210 in response to a user request, and displays the basic printsetting UI 8500 associated with the print queue information 3302. Theprint queue information 3302 is information of each printer driverincluding a name of an installed printer driver. The basic print settingUI 8500 is a simple print setting UI generated and displayed by the OS210 based on a print capability 3202 and a print ticket 3102. The printticket 3102 is information of the print setting which has been set. Theprint capability 3202 is information of a list of print settings thatthe driver 211 can set. The print ticket 3102 and the print capability3202 are described in a form referred to as an Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML) in which information is divided into items by tags andmanaged. When the print ticket 3102 is generated by the OS 210, theprint ticket 3102 is in a state without conflict.

A touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 is started fromthe basic print setting UI 8500 in response to the user request. Thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 is an applicationfor a print advanced setting which is directed to performing display ofa list of functions of various drivers 211 and a change in the advancedprint setting from the touch panel application 3004. When the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 is called and started onthe occasion of print execution by another application, the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 operates as a touch panel printsetting function 30062. On the other hand, when the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 is started by a user selecting a tileon a start screen, the touch panel print advanced setting application3006 operates as a tile application function 30063. The tile applicationfunction 30063 and the touch panel print setting function 30062 shareapplication data in an application data area 3030 in a data storage areaof the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006. The touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 includes a GPD engine30061 which is a first module for performing conflict resolvingprocessing. The GPD engine 30061 is an internal module of the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006.

In addition, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 caninput and output unique data to and from a user property bag 3012 and aregistry 3016. The user property bag 3012 is a storage area for thetouch panel print setting function 30062 of the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 and stores user setting informationand the like in the print setting. When operating as the touch panelprint setting function 30062, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 requests the print ticket 3102 and the print capability3202 from the OS 210. The touch panel print advanced setting application3006 obtains an application GPD file 3021 from a driver property bag3020. A GPD file is a script file describing a conflict rule whichincludes a priority order for determining a setting to be prioritizedand the like when a conflict occurs. The application GPD file 3021 is aGPD file used by the touch panel application 3004 to resolve a conflict.Configurations of the print capability 3202, the print ticket 3102, andthe application GPD file 3021 are described below. The driver propertybag 3020 is a data area for each driver 211. According to the presentexemplary embodiment, the application GPD file 3021 is stored in thedriver property bag 3020. The touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 generates a UI based on the print capability 3202 andthe print ticket 3102 and receives a user operation. After completion ofreceiving, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006determines the print setting and passes the print ticket 3102 as thedetermined print setting to the OS 210.

The OS 210 performs the processing for resolving the conflict on theprint ticket 3102 by a print configuration 3007 and passes the printticket 3102 in which the conflict is resolved to the basic print settingUI 8500. The print configuration 3007 is a module of the OS 210 andresolves the conflict based on a GPD file 3014. The basic print settingUI 8500 receives a print event by a user operation and passes the printticket 3102 and an Extensible Markup Language (XML) paper specification(XPS) file 3402 as a print target to a merge module 3018. An XPS file isa document file described in the XML format.

Next, a software component regarding print processing in the driver andOS layer is described. In the print processing, processing from when theXPS file 3402 and the print ticket 3102 are received from the touchpanel application 3004 to when a PDL 3600 is generated and passed to theprinter 102 is performed. The merge module 3018 received the printticket 3102 and the XPS file 3402 from the touch panel application 3004combines the print ticket 3102 with the XPS file 3402 and generates theXPS file 3402 as the print target. The merge module 3018 adds the printticket 3102 as the print setting to the XPS file 3402 and thus combinesthem. The merge module 3018 passes the XPS file 3402 to a print spooler3008. The print spooler 3008 passes the XPS file 3402 to the printconfiguration 3007 to resolve the conflict. The print spooler 3008obtains the XPS file 3402 on which the processing for resolving theconflict is performed from the print configuration 3007. The printspooler 3008 passes the XPS file 3402 to a filter pipeline manager 3009.The filter pipeline manager 3009 is a module for calling a modulereferred to as a filter and generates the PDL 3600 from the XPS file3402 through the filter. In a filter configuration 3106, a configurationof a filter to be called by the filter pipeline manager 3009 isdescribed in the XML format, and a necessary filter is called inresponse to the description. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, a renderer filter 3010 is called as an example. The printspooler 3008 obtains the PDL 3600 from the filter pipeline and passesthe PDL 3600 to the printer 102, and thus printing is performed.

The application GPD file 3021 in the driver property bag 3020 isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13C. The application GPD file3021 is constituted of data pieces of options of selection items such asthe conflict rule and a paper size and others. An item 1700 is anexample in which the conflict rule is expressed. The conflict rule isexpressed by describing a combination in which two print settings areinvalid. In FIGS. 13A to 13C, a combination of “postcard” of the papersize and “long side and double-sided” of double-sided printing isinvalid, and each is expressed as PaperSize.PostCard, andDUPLEX.VERTICAL. In an item 1701, the print setting of the selectionitem of the paper size is described, and similarly, in an item 1702, theprint setting of the double-sided printing is described. An item 1703 isan option of a setting item, and FIG. 13B is an example which describesdetailed data of “postcard” of the paper size. An item 1704 is priorityof the paper size and indicates that a setting item having a lower valueis prioritized when a conflict is resolved. For example, in FIG. 13B,the priority of the paper size is 1, and in FIG. 13C, an item 1705indicates that the priority of the double-sided printing is 15. Thus,when the conflict described in the item 1700 is resolved, “postcard” ofthe paper size is not changed, and the setting of the double-sidedprinting is changed.

Next, the print capability 3202 and the print ticket 3102 are describedwith reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B. FIG. 12A is an example of the printcapability 3202. The print capability 3202 is a list of functions anditems that the printer driver has and described in the XML format. Thelist of functions is described by a tag referred to as “Feature”. InFIG. 12A, an item 12001 indicates PageMediaSize which represents thepaper size as an example. The list of items of each function isdescribed by a tag referred to as “Option”. According to the presentexemplary embodiment, an item 12002 indicates “Letter” which is one ofthe paper size as an example of Option. The print capability 3202respectively includes one or a plurality of Feature and Option. FIG. 12Bis an example of the print ticket 3102. The print ticket 3102 is a listof selection items of the print setting and described in the XML format.The functions and items are described by tags of Feature and Option aswith the print capability 3202. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, an item 12003 indicating DocumentDuplex representingdouble-sided printing as the selection item is indicated as an exampleof Feature, and an item 12004 indicating OneSided representingsingle-sided printing as the option is described as an example ofOption.

FIGS. 4A to 4F illustrates examples of the touch panel UI operating onthe OS 210. A basic flow of printing from the touch panel UI isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F. The UI of the touch panelapplication 3004 is designed by focusing on an operation on a touchpanel display. The UI includes a large button so that a touch operationwith a finger or a pen is easy. The touch panel application 3004receives an operation input by a mouse or a keyboard, however, thefollowing description is made on the assumption that a touch operationis performed.

FIG. 4A illustrates a start screen 8000 of the touch panel application3004. The start screen 8000 is displayed on a whole area on the touchpanel display. In the start screen, the touch panel application 3004 isdisplayed in a format of a tile 8001. When a user taps the tile, thetouch panel application corresponding to the tile is displayed on thewhole area on the display. FIG. 4B illustrates a display example of aWEB browser 8100. The WEB browser 8100 is displayed on the whole area ofthe touch panel display, and another application is not displayed. Whenprinting is performed by the touch panel application 3004, a user startsthe operation by touching a right end 8101 on the touch panel displaywith his/her finger and sliding the finger to the left to open a menuscreen referred to as a charm 8200 in FIG. 4C. The charm includes aplurality of options, and when the user taps a device in the options andfurther taps a device menu button 8201 in a list related to the device,the user can open a device menu 8300. FIG. 4D illustrates the devicemenu 8300. The device menu 8300 includes a plurality of options such asplayback, print, and display. When the user taps the print 8301, a printqueue selection menu 8400 in FIG. 4E for selecting a print queue of aprint output destination is displayed. In the print queue selection menu8400, candidates of the print output destination are listed. When theuser taps “PRINTER 01” 8401 which is one of the candidates, the basicprint setting UI 8500 in FIG. 4F provided by the OS 210 is displayed.Basic print setting information such as the number of copies and a colormode can be set via the basic print setting UI 8500. When the userpresses a detailed setting 8501, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 is started, and thus the user can perform a detailedsetting which is not included in the basic setting. The detailed settingis described in detail below. When the user completes the settings andtaps a print button 8502, the PDL 3600 is generated, and printing isperformed.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006. The touch panel print advanced setting application3006 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionincludes a top page screen in FIG. 5A and a full function setting screenin FIG. 5B which includes an output method and the like. Unlessotherwise noted, the two setting screens receive a change in the printsetting from a user. In the top page screen, setting items regardingbasic functions of the driver are assembled, and in the full functionsetting screen, further detailed setting functions are assembled. Thesetwo print setting screens can be moved by sliding a finger on the touchpanel. The full function setting screen is constituted of a plurality ofsheets by control referred to as flip view. In flip view, a user canshift a page to an adjacent page by sliding his/her finger to right andleft.

In addition, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006includes a page dot 9002 displayed on a lower area. The page dots 9002are displayed for the number of pages with respective page numbers. Whentapping the page dot 9002, a user can shift to a sheet corresponding tothe page number by one operation. Needless to say, transition of thepage may be performed by another method such as a tab. In the example inFIG. 5A, a setting item 9003 for setting a print direction is indicated.A return button 9001 is tapped when a user determines the print settingand terminates the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006.In FIG. 5B, an output method 9011 which is an item in which an optionsuch as a secure print can be set is indicated as an example. In FIG.5B, “print” indicating normal printing is set. Further, an item 9012 isused for setting a document size.

A configuration of the touch panel print setting function 30062 isdescribed with reference to FIG. 14. The touch panel print settingfunction 30062 includes two modes of a mode 1 and a mode 2. The mode 1is a mode first started when the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 is started by the touch panel print setting function30062. The mode 1 is directed to high-speed start-up of the touch panelprint setting function 30062, and the touch panel print setting function30062 can be start without waiting completion of the initialization ofthe GPD engine 30061. In addition, when the initialization of the GPDengine 30061 is completed, the mode can be changed to the mode 2 at apredetermined timing. Further, the print setting can be determined inthe mode 1. In the mode 1, when a conflict is resolved, the processingfor resolving the conflict is performed by calling an applicationprogramming interface (API) of the OS 210 instead of not calling the GPDengine 30061. On the other hand, the mode 2 is a mode which can bestarted when the initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed,and the processing for resolving the conflict is performed using the GPDengine 30061. The mode is basically changed only from the mode 1 to themode 2 and is not changed from the mode 2 to the mode 1.

A conflict notification method is described with reference to FIGS. 16Ato 16C. The conflict notification method can be divided into a case inwhich a conflict is resolved by the API of the OS 210 (processing forresolving conflict by the OS) and a case in which a conflict is resolvedby the GPD engine 30061 when a user performs an operation. Anotification by the processing for resolving conflict by the OS isperformed in step S6013 in FIG. 6A which is described below, andnotification in the case that the conflict is resolved by the GPD engine30061 when a user performs an operation is performed in step S6053 inFIG. 6C which is described below. Further, when a conflict in the printsetting changed by a user is resolved, the latter case can be dividedinto two cases, that is a case when the print setting item changed bythe user is set prior to the print setting item of the conflict target(a prior conflict notification) and a case when the print setting itemchanged by the user is not prioritized (an inferior conflictnotification). Thus, there are three notification methods in total.

First, a case when a conflict is resolved by the API of the OS 210 isdescribed. An OS conflict notification pop-up 16001 in FIG. 16A is usedfor notifying a user of a conflict when the processing for resolvingconflict by the OS is performed. Only the print setting changed when theconflict is resolved is notified to the user. The print setting to benotified is notified in any print setting on other pages including a toppage and the full function setting screen. When a plurality of printsettings is changed, all changed settings are displayed in the OSconflict notification pop-up 16001. The OS conflict notification pop-up16001 can be deleted by tapping an area of the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 outside of the OS conflictnotification pop-up 16001 or tapping an OK button 16002 in the screen.FIG. 16A is an example when “long side and double-sided” in the printsetting is changed to “single-sided printing” by the print setting itemchanged by a user.

The prior conflict notification is described with reference to FIG. 16B.In the case of the prior conflict notification, a lower portion conflictmark 16003 is displayed. When a user taps the lower portion conflictmark 16003, a prior conflict notification pop-up 16004 is displayed. Inthe prior conflict notification pop-up 16004, the print setting isdisplayed which is changed when the conflict is resolved. The printsetting to be displayed is displayed in the prior conflict notificationpop-up 16004 even in the print setting in pages which are not displayedincluding the top page and the full function setting screen. When aplurality of print settings is changed, the plurality of print settingsis displayed in the prior conflict notification pop-up 16004. During aperiod when the lower portion conflict mark 16003 is displayed, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receives a change inthe print setting and transition to another screen. The lower portionconflict mark 16003 is not deleted until the print setting is changedagain or the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 isterminated. The prior conflict notification pop-up 16004 can be deletedby tapping the area of the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 outside of the prior conflict notification pop-up 16004or tapping an OK button 16005 in the screen. FIG. 16B is an example when“long side and double-sided” in the print setting is changed to“single-sided printing” by the print setting item changed by a user.

The inferior conflict notification is described with reference to FIG.16C. An inferior conflict notification pop-up 16006 is illustrated. Theinferior conflict notification pop-up 16006 is displayed when a conflictoccurs and a print setting intended by a user cannot be set. Displayedcontents are the print setting which causes the conflict with the printsetting that the user intended to set. When a plurality of printsettings causes the conflict, the plurality of print settings isdisplayed. The inferior conflict notification pop-up 16006 can bedeleted by tapping the area of the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 outside of the inferior conflict notification pop-up16006 or tapping an OK button 16007 in the screen. The inferior conflictnotification pop-up 16006 in FIG. 16C is a display example whichindicates that when a user tried to set “long side and double-sided” tothe print setting in the state in which “postcard” is set in thedocument size, “postcard” is prioritized and the change to “long sideand double-sided” is failed.

A flow from start-up of the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 to determination of the print setting is described withreference to flowcharts in FIGS. 6A to 6D. Unless otherwise specified,processing in the present flowchart is executed by the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006. In addition, the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 operates as the touch panel printsetting function 30062. The touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 is loaded from the external memory 209 to the RAM 202in response to a request from a user or another system and executed bythe CPU 201.

In steps S6002 and S6003, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 reads the print capability 3202 and the print ticket3102 and, in step S6005, displays the top page screen illustrated inFIG. 5A in the mode 1 in which the processing for resolving a conflictusing the API of the OS 210 is performed on all of the setting itemswhen the print settings are determined. In the mode 1 of the presentexemplary embodiment, the conflict is resolved not every time the printsetting is changed but by batch when the return button 9001 in FIG. 5Ais pressed. The processing for resolving conflict by the OS may becalled every time the print setting is changed instead of when thereturn button 9001 is pressed.

The page dot 9002 is not displayed on the top page screen in the mode 1so as not to allow a user to perform an operation to shift the screen tothe full function setting screen. As a measure for notifying a user thatthe page dot 9002 is not available, another method may be used, forexample, a progress ring is rotated.

In step S6006, initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is performed in abackground after displaying the top page screen. The GPD engine 30061 isa module which performs processing for notifying a conflict and forresolving the conflict based on the application GPD file 3021. FIG. 6Billustrates steps of the initialization of the GPD engine 30061. Thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 generates abackground thread separately from a UI thread for receiving a user inputand performs the processing in FIG. 6B in the generated backgroundthread. In step S6032, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 first reads the application GPD file 3021 and performsparsing which is processing for analyzing a grammatical relationship inthe description of the conflict rule. After parsing, in step S6033, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 initializes the GPDengine 30061 and, in step S6034, terminates the thread after completionof the initialization.

The description is continued by returning to FIG. 6A. After theprocessing in step S6006 is completed, in step S6007, the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 receives a user input in aforeground during the initialization of the GPD engine 30061.

After receiving the user input, in step S6501, the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 determines the input. When the settingitem including the print direction 9003 is changed in the mode 1 (“PRINTSETTING IS CHANGED” in step S6501), in step S6008, the change in thesetting item is reflected to the print ticket 3102. When the returnbutton 9001 is pressed in the mode 1 (“RETURN BUTTON 9001 IS PRESSED” instep S6501), in step S6011, the setting item is reflected to the currentprint ticket 3102, and the processing for resolving conflict by the OSis called using the print ticket 3102 as an input value. This processingis realized by the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006calling the processing for resolving the conflict by the second module.The second module is an external module of the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006, and the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 does not need to initialize the second module.However, when the print setting is not changed, it is not necessary tocall the processing for resolving the conflict. The processing forresolving conflict by the OS is executed by the print configuration 3007based on the GPD file 3014. The print configuration 3007 obtains theprint ticket 3102 (a print ticket at the time of the input) from thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 and generates theprint ticket 3102 (a print ticket at the time of the output) in whichthe conflict is resolved when the conflict exists. When the print ticket3102 in which the conflict occurs is input, the processing for resolvingconflict by the OS outputs the print ticket 3102 in which the conflictis resolved based in the GPD file 3014.

In step S6012, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006determines whether the conflict exists based on the two print ticketsnamely the print ticket at the time of the input and the print ticket atthe time of the output. When the print ticket in which the conflict isresolved is output, the touch panel print advanced setting application3006 determines that the conflict exists (YES in step S6011) and, instep S6013, notifies that the conflict exists by the notification methodillustrated in FIG. 16A. At that time, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 compares the print ticket at the time of theinput and the print ticket at the time of the output and displays a listof items changed by the processing for resolving the conflict in the OSconflict notification pop-up 16001. In step S6014, the print ticket atthe time of the output is reflected to the UI, however, the screen isnot shifted to the basic print setting UI 8500. In step S6012, when itis determined that the conflict does not exist (NO in step S6012), theprocessing proceeds to step S6022.

In step S6501, in response to a determination that a user slides his/herfinger on the touch panel, in other words, an instruction to shift aprint setting screen is received from the user (“SLIDE FROM RIGHT TOLEFT” in step S6501), the processing proceeds to step S6010. In stepS6010, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receivesthe slide event and determines whether reading processing of theapplication GPD file 3021 and the initialization processing of the GPDengine 30061 performed in the background thread are completed. If theprocessing are not completed (NO in step S6010), the slide event isignored, whereas if the processing are completed (YES in step S6010), instep S6015, the full function setting screen illustrated in FIG. 5B isdisplayed, and the mode is changed from the mode 1 to the mode 2.According to the present exemplary embodiment, in the mode 2, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 notifies a user of aconflict every time the setting item is changed. Needless to say, anevent for changing to the mode 2 is not limited to the slide event andmay include other events such as a touch and a click. Further, in themode 2, the page dot 9002 is displayed on all pages. After the mode ischanged to the mode 2, in step S6016, the processing for resolving theconflict is performed.

The processing in step S6016 is described with reference to FIG. 6C. Instep S6051, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006confirms that a conflict exists. After the confirmation, in step S6052,the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 determineswhether the conflict exists. If the conflict exists (YES in step S6052),in step S6053, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006displays a pop-up to notify a user of a content of the conflict. In stepS6053, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006determines which of the prior conflict notification or the inferiorconflict notification to use to make notification according to theconflict rule. The notification method is not limited to those in FIGS.16B and 16C and may be any other method. After the notification, in stepS6054, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 comparesitems of the function causing the conflict and resolves the conflict bychanging the setting having the lower priority order based on theapplication GPD file 3021.

After the conflict is resolved, the setting item is reflected to the UI,and in step S6017, the user input is received again.

When the user input is received in the mode 2, in step S6018, the userinput is determined. The top page screen illustrated in FIG. 5A can bedisplayed in response to occurrence of the slide event by the user(“SLIDE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT” in step S6018), in step S6019, the operatingmode is not changed from the mode 2 to the mode 1. Of course, the pagedot 9002 is also continuously displayed. Since the operating mode is notchanged to the mode 1, after changing to the mode 2, the conflict can benotified in the top page screen every time the setting item is changed.When the setting item of the function including “print” of the outputmethod 9011 is changed in the mode 2 (“PRINT SETTING IS CHANGED” in stepS6018), in step S6020, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 performs the processing for resolving the conflictbased on the application GPD file 3021. Since step S6020 is similar tostep S6016, a description thereof is omitted.

When the conflict does not occur, in step S6021, the change in thesetting item is reflected to the UI, and the user input is receivedagain. When the return button 9001 is input (“RETURN BUTTON 9001 ISPRESSED” in step S6018), in step S6022, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 reflects the setting item to the print ticket3102 to generate the print ticket 3102 and then stores the generatedprint ticket 3102. In step S6023, the OS 210 resolves the conflict inthe print ticket 3102. Unlike the processing in step S6011, resolving ofthe conflict in step S6023 is processing automatically performed by theOS 210, and when the conflict is resolved, notification is not made.After resolving the conflict, in step S6024, the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 shifts the screen to the basic printsetting UI 8500 and terminates the processing. According to theabove-described exemplary embodiment, a user can change the printsetting without waiting for an initialization time of the GPD engine30061.

According to the first exemplary embodiment, the mode cannot be changedto the mode 2 until the screen is shifted to the full function settingscreen. According to a second exemplary embodiment, a method forchanging to the mode 2 when the start-up of the GPD engine 30061 iscompleted in the mode 1 is described with reference to flowcharts inFIGS. 7A and 7B. Unless otherwise specified, processing in the presentflowchart is executed by the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006. In addition, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 operates as the touch panel print setting function30062. Further, a step of which processing is the same as that in thestep already described is denoted with the same step number as the stepalready described, and the description thereof is omitted unlessotherwise noted. The touch panel print advanced setting application 3006is loaded from the external memory 209 to the RAM 202 in response to arequest from a user or another system and executed by the CPU 201.

In step S6501, when it is determined that the setting item is changed(“PRINT SETTING IS CHANGED” in step S6501), in step S7008, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 determines whether theinitialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed. When theinitialization of the GPD engine 30061 is not completed (NO in stepS7008), in step S7010, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 reflects the change in the setting item to the UI. Whenthe initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed (YES in stepS7008), in step S6016 in FIG. 7B, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 changes the mode to the mode 2 and performs theprocessing for resolving the conflict based on the application GPD file3021. The processing for resolving the conflict is same as that in FIG.6C, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In step S6501, when it is determined that the user slides his/her fingeron the touch panel (“SLIDE FROM RIGHT TO LEFT” in step S6501), in stepS6010, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receivesthe slide event and determines whether the reading processing of theapplication GPD file 3021 and the initialization processing of the GPDengine 30061 performed in the background thread are completed.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, when the setting item ischanged, it is confirmed that whether the initialization of the GPDengine 30061 is completed, and the mode can be changed to the mode 2when the initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed.

According to the first exemplary embodiment, display of the page dot9002 and transition to the full function setting screen cannot beperformed until the initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed.According to a third exemplary embodiment, transition of a page anddisplay of the page number by the page dot 9002 can be performed beforethe initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed. The presentexemplary embodiment is described with reference to flowcharts in FIGS.8A and 8B. Unless otherwise specified, processing in the presentflowchart is executed by the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006. In addition, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 operates as the touch panel print setting function30062. Further, a step of which processing is the same as that in thestep already described is denoted with the same step number as the stepalready described, and the description thereof is omitted unlessotherwise noted. The touch panel print advanced setting application 3006is loaded from the external memory 209 to the RAM 202 in response to arequest from a user or another system and executed by the CPU 201.

In steps S8002 and S8003 in FIG. 8A, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 reads the print capability 3202 and the printticket 3102.

In step S8004, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006confirms whether the read print ticket 3102 includes Featurescorresponding to a function to be arranged in each page and a functionexisting in each page and, in step S8005, generates page information ofa page to be generated and the page dot 9002 corresponding to the page.A case is described as an example in which the print capability 3202includes PageMediaSize in the Feature. PageMediaSize is associated witha document size 9012 in FIG. 5B. When the print capability 3202 includesPageMediaSize in the Feature, it is necessary to display the documentsize 9012. Thus, when the print capability 3202 includes PageMediaSizein the Feature, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006determines to generate a page of the full function setting screenincluding the document size 9012 and generates the page information andthe page dot 9002. The full function setting screen is constituted of aplurality of pages, so that the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 confirms whether the Feature corresponding to thecontrol is similarly included in each page and confirms the number ofpages. When the number of pages is determined, it may be confirmed frominformation in either of the print ticket 3102 and the print capability3202, and it is needless to say that any information described in theprint ticket 3102 or the print capability 3202 including other Featuresand Options can be used for the determination. Further, the generatedpage information may be stored in the application data area 3030 and theuser property bag 3012, and the stored page information may be used instart-up for the second time and subsequent times instead of using theprint capability 3202 and the print ticket 3102.

After generating the page dot 9002 and each page, in step S8006, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 displays the toppage screen in the mode 1.

When the top page screen is displayed in the mode 1, the page dot 9002is also displayed. Next, in step S8007, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 initializes the GPD engine 30061 in thebackground thread. The initialization of the GPD engine 30061 in stepS8007 is the same as that in FIG. 6B, and thus the description thereofis omitted.

During the initialization of the GPD engine 30061, in step S8008, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receives the userinput in the foreground. In step S8009, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 determines the input received in step S8008.

When the setting item including the print direction 9003 is changed inthe mode 1 (“PRINT SETTING IS CHANGED” in step S8009), in step S8010,the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 confirms whetherthe initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed. When theinitialization is not completed (NO in step S8010), in step S8011, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receives the changein the setting item and reflects the change to the UI. When theinitialization is completed (YES in step S8010), in step S6016, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 changes the mode tothe mode 2 and performs the processing for resolving the conflict basedon the application GPD file 3021.

In step S8009, when it is determined that the return button 9001 ispressed as in the mode 1 (“RETURN BUTTON 9001 IS PRESSED” in stepS8009), the processing proceeds to step S6011.

In step S8009, when it is determined that the user slides his/her fingeron the touch panel as in the mode 1, or when the page dot 9002 is tapped(“RETURN BUTTON 9001 IS PRESSED OR PAGE DOT 9002 IS TAPPED” in stepS8009), in step S8016, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 receives an event for shifting the screen to the fullfunction setting screen and displays the full function setting screen.

After the transition, in step S8017, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 determines whether the reading processing ofthe application GPD file 3021 and the initialization processing of theGPD engine 30061 performed in the background thread are completed.

When the processing are not completed (NO in step S8017), in step S8018,a progress ring is displayed on the full function setting screen. Theprogress ring is displayed until the initialization processing of theGPD engine 30061 is completed, and a change in the print setting is notreceived on the full function setting screen while the progress ring isdisplayed. In addition, the full function setting screen after thetransition does not receive changes in all of the setting items in theprint setting and receives only the user input of page transition and atap on the return button 9001. During the processing, the mode remainsin the mode 1.

When the initialization of the GPD engine 30061 is completed (YES instep S8017), in step S6016, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 changes the mode to the mode 2 and performs theprocessing for resolving the conflict. In addition, available functionsare all displayed on the full function setting screen.

According to the above-described exemplary embodiment, the printadvanced setting application can perform display of the page dot 9002and transition to the full function setting screen in the mode 1.

According to the first exemplary embodiment, the print setting can bechanged regardless of completion of the initialization of the GPD engine30061 the mode 1, however, in that case, it is necessary to perform theprocessing for resolving conflict by the OS, and there is an issue thatthe setting is performed without knowing whether the conflict existsuntil the print setting is determined. In this case, if many conflictshave been set, there is a possibility that the setting may be completelydifferent from the print setting set by the user, and the user has toreset many of the setting items again. According to a fourth exemplaryembodiment, the start-up is performed in the mode 1 for confirming onlya list of functions and items, and when the setting item is changed inthe mode 1, the setting item is determined after shifting to the mode 2.A method for preventing the print settings causing the conflicts beingconcurrently displayed while increasing the speed of start-up time bythe above-described processing is described with reference to FIGS. 9Aand 9B. Unless otherwise specified, processing in the present flowchartis executed by the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006.In addition, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006operates as the touch panel print setting function 30062. Further, astep of which processing is the same as that in the step alreadydescribed is denoted with the same step number as the step alreadydescribed, and the description thereof is omitted unless otherwisenoted. The touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 is loadedfrom the external memory 209 to the RAM 202 in response to a requestfrom a user or another system and executed by the CPU 201.

In step S8008, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006receives a user input on the foreground during the initialization of theGPD engine 30061. In step S9011, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 determines the received user input. When a pagetransition event including a slide is received in the mode 1 (“SLIDEFROM RIGHT TO LEFT OR PAGE DOT 9002 IS TAPPED” in step S9011), in stepS9010, the full function setting screen is displayed. When the settingitem including the print direction 9003 is changed (“PRINT SETTING ISCHANGED” in step S9011), in step S9012, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 confirms whether the initialization of the GPDengine 30061 is completed. When the initialization is completed (YES instep S9012), in step S6016, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 changes the mode to the mode 2 and performs theprocessing for resolving the conflict. When the initialization of theGPD engine 30061 is not completed (NO in step S9012), in step S9013, thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 displays theprogress ring and waits for completion of the initialization of the GPDengine 30061 without receiving a further change in the print settingfrom the user.

A timing for displaying the progress ring may be when an event fordisplaying a list of items of functions occurs or when the selectionitem is selected and determined. When the return button 9001 is pressedin the mode 1 (“RETURN BUTTON 9001 IS PRESSED” in step S9011), the printticket 3102 is not changed, so that the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 terminates processing without doing anything.

According to the above-described exemplary embodiment, occurrence of theconflict can be certainly notified when the print setting is changedwhile the speed of start-up is increased.

A method for changing a mode at the start-up between the mode 1 and themode 2 is described as a fifth exemplary embodiment with reference toFIGS. 10A to 10C and FIG. 11. The touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 is loaded from the external memory 209 to the RAM 202in response to a request from a user or another system and executed bythe CPU 201. First, the tile application function 30063 is describedwhich is included in the touch panel print advanced setting application3006 and started and operated when a user selects a tile. The start-upmethod for causing the touch panel print advanced setting application3006 to operate as the tile application function 30063 is similar tothat of the normal touch panel application 3004 described with referenceto FIG. 4A. Further, a step of which processing is the same as that inthe step already described is denoted with the same step number as thestep already described, and the description thereof is omitted unlessotherwise noted.

FIG. 11 illustrates a UI at the time of start-up as an example of thetouch panel print advanced setting application 3006 operating as thetile application function 30063. When a combo box 1101 for switching themode is tapped with a finger, a list of modes is displayed. When anarbitrary one in the displayed list is tapped again, a mode can beselected. Needless to say, the method for switching modes is notnecessarily limited to the combo box and may be any method.

Processing for switching the mode from the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 operating as the tile application function30063 is described with reference to FIG. 10A. Unless otherwisespecified, processing in the present flowchart is executed by the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006. In addition, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 operates as the tileapplication function 30063. In step S10002, when starting up, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 reads application data3032 in which the mode at the time of start-up is written from theapplication data area 3030. After reading the application data 3032, instep S10003, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006sets the mode written in the application data 3032 as a selected mode toa default value of an option in the combo box and displays the mode onthe application. After displaying the mode, in step S10004, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 receives a user input. Instep S10005, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006receives the user input, then rewrites the application data 3032, andwrites rewritten application data 3031 to the application data area3030. Subsequently, in step S10006, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 terminates the processing.

Next, the start-up of the touch panel print advanced setting application3006 is described with reference to FIGS. 10B and 10C. Unless otherwisespecified, processing in the present flowchart is executed by the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006. In addition, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 operates as the touchpanel print setting function 30062.

In step S10008, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006reads the application data 3031 after the start-up. As described abovewith reference to FIG. 3, the tile application function 30063 sharesdata of the application data area 3030 with the touch panel printsetting function 30062 which is the same application. Thus, in stepS10008, the application data 3031 written in step S10005 of FIG. 10A isread. After the application data 3031 is read, in step S10009, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 determines the mode.

After reading, when the mode 1 is written in the application data 3031(“MODE 1” in step S10009), in step S10010, the processing proceeds tostep S6002 in FIG. 6A according to the first exemplary embodiment.

When the mode 2 is written (“MODE 2” in step S10009), in step S10012,which is a step at the time of start-up of the touch panel printadvanced setting application, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 reads the application GPD file 3021 and performsparsing. After parsing, in step S10013, the touch panel print advancedsetting application 3006 initializes the GPD engine 30061.

After completion of the initialization, in step S10014, the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 generates the full functionsetting screen. Subsequently, in step S10015, the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 displays the top page screen and, instep S10016, receives a user input. In step S10018, the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 determines the received userinput.

When a page transition event occurs by pressing the page dot 9002 and aslide operation (“PAGE TRANSITION EVENT” in step S10018), in stepS10017, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 shiftsthe page and receives the user input again. When the setting item of thefunctions including “print” of the output method 9011 is changed (“PRINTSETTING IS CHANGED” in step S10018), in step S6020, the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 performs the processing forresolving the conflict based on the application GPD file 3021.

When the return button 9001 is input (“RETURN BUTTON 9001 IS PRESSED” instep S10018), in step S10023, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 reflects the setting item to the print ticket 3102 andstores the print ticket 3102. Subsequently, in step S6023, the conflictin the print ticket 3102 is resolved by the OS 210. After the conflictis resolved, in step S10024, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 shifts the screen to the basic print setting UI 8500.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, start-up in the mode 1and in the mode 2 can be switched, and the mode 1 can be used to startup quickly and the mode 2 can be used to certainly resolve the conflict.

When the number of functions of the printer driver increases, the printcapability 3202 becomes larger together with the application GPD file3021. In such a case, processing for reading the print capability takestime which may slow the start-up. According to a sixth exemplaryembodiment, a method for realizing high speed start-up by performingboth of initialization processing of the GPD engine 30061 and readingprocessing of the print capability 3202 in the background threaddifferent from the UI thread is described with reference to FIGS. 15A to15C. Unless otherwise specified, processing in the present flowchart isexecuted by the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006. Inaddition, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006operates as the touch panel print setting function 30062. Further, astep of which processing is the same as that in the step alreadydescribed is denoted with the same step number as the step alreadydescribed, and the description thereof is omitted unless otherwisenoted.

In step S15001, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006reads the print capability 3202 in the thread different from the UIthread. The processing in step S15001 is performed in the same thread asthat of step S6006 and is started after completion of the initializationprocessing of the GPD engine 30061. Accordingly, the initialization ofthe GPD engine 30061 is certainly completed when reading of the printcapability 3202 is completed. In step S6010, when the initialization ofthe GPD engine 30061 is completed (YES in step S6010), the touch panelprint advanced setting application 3006 changes the mode from the mode 1to the mode 2 even if reading of the print capability 3202 is notcompleted and advances the processing to step S6020.

In step S6501, when it is determined that a user slides his/her fingeron the touch panel (“SLIDE FROM RIGHT TO LEFT” in step S6501), in stepS15002, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006 receivesthe slide event and confirms whether the reading processing of the printcapability 3202 performed in the background thread is completed. Whenreading is completed (YES in step S15002), in step S6015, the touchpanel print advanced setting application 3006 displays the full functionsetting screen. When reading of the print capability 3202 is notcompleted (NO in step S15002), in step S15003, the touch panel printadvanced setting application 3006 displays the progress ring and waitsfor completion of reading. At the timing of the completion of reading,in step S6015, the touch panel print advanced setting application 3006displays the full function setting screen.

In step S6018, when it is determined that the user slides his/her fingerfrom right to left on the touch panel (“SLIDE FROM RIGHT TO LEFT” instep S6018), in step S15004, the touch panel print advanced settingapplication 3006 determines whether the top page is displayed. When thetop page is displayed (YES in step S15004), the processing proceeds tostep S15002. When the full function setting screen is displayed (NO instep S15004), the processing proceeds to step S6015.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, the speed of the start-upcan be increased if reading of the print capability 3202 takes time.Further, the mode can be changed from the mode 1 to the mode 2 beforecompletion of reading of the print capability 3202, and thus theprocessing for resolving the conflict and the processing for notifyingof the conflict can be quickly performed every time the print setting ischanged on the top page.

According to the present invention, a wait time of a user caused by twomodules of the first module and the second module can be shortened.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2015-140046, filed Jul. 13, 2015, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising:one or more processors; and one or more memory devices storingexecutable instructions, which when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the information processing apparatus to performoperations comprising: performing initialization of a first module whichperforms conflict resolving processing for resolving a conflict betweentwo print settings, wherein the print settings include a print settingthat is received on an application; and performing control, if theapplication receives a change in the print setting and initialization ofthe first module is completed, to perform the conflict resolvingprocessing by the first module and, if an instruction to terminate theapplication is received and initialization of the first module is notcompleted, to call a function of conflict resolving processing by asecond module that is an external module of the application, thefunction being the second module.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, the operations further comprisingdetermining whether initialization of the first module is completed,wherein, if the application receives a change in the print setting andthe determining determines that initialization of the first module iscompleted, the control performs the conflict resolving processing by thefirst module, and if an instruction to terminate the application isreceived and the determining determines that initialization of the firstmodule is completed, the control calls the conflict resolving processingby the second module.
 3. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the determining determines whether initialization ofthe first module is completed in response to receiving an instructionfrom a user to shift from a first print setting screen to a second printsetting screen.
 4. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein, if the determining determines that initialization ofthe first module is not completed, the control unit performs control notto receive a change in a print setting on the second print settingscreen.
 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the determining determines whether initialization of the firstmodule is completed in response to receiving an instruction from a userto change a print setting.
 6. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein, if the determining determines thatinitialization of the first module is not completed, the control unitwaits until initialization of the first module is completed withoutreceiving a further change in a print setting from a user.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, the operationsfurther comprising: setting whether to perform initialization of thefirst module in a background or in a timing when an application isstarted up, wherein, if the setting sets to perform initialization ofthe first module in the background, the determining determines whetherinitialization of the first module is completed, and if the setting setsto perform initialization of the first module when the application isstarted up, the control performs initialization of the first module whenthe application is started up.
 8. A method of control comprising:performing initialization of a first module which performs conflictresolving processing for resolving a conflict between two printsettings, wherein the print settings include a print setting that isreceived on an application; and performing control, if the applicationreceives a change in the print setting and initialization of the firstmodule is completed, to perform the conflict resolving processing by thefirst module and, if an instruction to terminate the application isreceived and initialization of the first module is not completed, tocall a function of conflict resolving processing by a second module thatis an external module of the application, the function being the secondmodule.
 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprisingdetermining whether initialization of the first module is completed,wherein, if the application receives a change in the print setting andthe determining determines that initialization of the first module iscompleted, the control performs the conflict resolving processing by thefirst module, and if an instruction to terminate the application isreceived and the determining determines that initialization of the firstmodule is completed, the control calls the conflict resolving processingby the second module.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein thedetermining determines whether initialization of the first module iscompleted in response to receiving an instruction from a user to shiftfrom a first print setting screen to a second print setting screen. 11.The method according to claim 10, wherein, if the determining determinesthat initialization of the first module is not completed, the controlperforms control not to receive a change in a print setting on thesecond print setting screen.
 12. The method according to claim 9,wherein the determining determines whether initialization of the firstmodule is completed in response to receiving an instruction from a userto change a print setting.
 13. The method according to claim 12,wherein, if the determining determines that initialization of the firstmodule is not completed, the control waits until initialization of thefirst module is completed without receiving a further change in a printsetting from a user.
 14. The method according to claim 9, furthercomprising: setting whether to perform initialization of the firstmodule in a background or in a timing when an application is started up,wherein, if the setting sets to perform initialization of the firstmodule in the background, the determining determines whetherinitialization of the first module is completed, and if the setting setsto perform initialization of the first module when the application isstarted up, the control performs initialization of the first module whenthe application is started up.
 15. A non-transitory storage mediumstoring instructions to cause a computer to execute: performinginitialization of a first module which performs conflict resolvingprocessing for resolving a conflict between two print settings, whereinthe print settings include a print setting that is received on anapplication; and performing control, if the application receives achange in the print setting and initialization of the first module iscompleted, to perform the conflict resolving processing by the firstmodule and, if an instruction to terminate the application is receivedand initialization of the first module is not completed, to call afunction of conflict resolving processing by a second module that is anexternal module of the application, the function being the secondmodule.